Review: Fablehaven

When Kendra and Seth are exiled to their Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson's home for seventeen days, they anticipate a lot of boring nothing waiting for them there.  They couldn't be more wrong.  Turns out their grandparents are actually running a preserve for endangered magical creatures like faeries.

Magic has rules, though, as Seth and Kendra are about to discover.  And breaking the rules can result in terrible consequences for everyone...

Entertainment: ★★★

It was "cute."  That's the only word I can use for this book.  Not in a good or bad way, it just seemed pretty immature and lighthearted and just a little pointless.  A fun read.

Plot: ★★★

Again, the plotlets were a little cutesy: "Let's experiment and discover nice Life Lessons, like Our Actions Have Consequences, sibling!"  The overarching plot, although it kind of runs in the background for much of the story, is actually a lot more interesting.  Although I didn't like its resolution much, I still thought it was worth the wait.

Characters: ★★

Kendra was interesting, but only mildly so.  The grandparents and really all the side characters were all pretty underdeveloped.  And I liked Seth at first, but got bored of him doing the same things, repetetively, throughout the story.  Also, I was a little annoyed by his distinct and concious refusal to learn anything from his mistakes.

Writing: ★★★★

The writing's funny, witty at times, and just plain interesting.  I like Mull's style.

End Result: three stars.  A decent book, but not amazingly excellent.